Caruana was the biggest favorite of the day. Radjabov looks dejected and sad
and beating him with White would not just be needed, but also expected.
Caruana did not disappoint. He won a clear win with just one mistake that
never mattered, as it was unexploited.1.e4c52.Nf3a6?This reminds me
of Korchnoi's classic rejection of the 4...a6 Slav as giving away a free tempo
for nothing.3.c4Nc63...d64.d4Bg4!?5.dxc5(5.d5g6makes perfect sense for Black. In the Benoni
structure the light-squared bishop is often superfluous. Yes, the Benoni is
generally a bad opening and the two bishops is still giving White an advantage,
but if a 2650-player wants to create a game with a 2300-player, this could
create imbalances. White is better after6.Qa4+Qd77.Qb3 and White has
managed to misplace the black pieces.(6...Nd77.Ng1!!b58.Qc2and
Black has to sacrifice a pawn withNb6±for dubious compensation.))Bxf36.gxf3dxc5, but even this endgame is sad.7.Qxd8+Kxd88.Be3e69.Nc3and long castling is much better for White. But it is imbalanced and
Black's results are not so bad in practice.4.d4cxd45.Nxd4e56.Nf5d57.cxd5Bxf58.exf5Nd49.Bd3!...This move shows Caruana's maturity and
cunning.9.Nc3Nf610.Bd3⩲would have followed Radjabov's preparation.
Caruana's move is obviously decent and it avoids playing against a computer.9....Qxd5Radjabov decides to win back the pawn.9...Nf610.O-Ois possible. It is possible thatBe7would not give White better than a
transposition to the main line. But also11.Re1!?⩲exists.10.Nc3Qd710...Qxg2??11.Be4Qh312.Qa4+b513.Nxb5and White wins.11.O-ONf6This may be inaccurate. If "nothing" happens, Black could easily drift into a
worse position in many ways.11...O-O-O!?makes sense here.12.Be3!This is the most venomous.(12.Re1Nxf5!Black is fine.(12...Nc613.Bc4Bc5⩲also looks playable.)13.Rxe5(13.Qa4Qxa414.Bxf5+Qd7is as close to equality as it needs to be.)Qxd314.Qxd3Rxd315.Rxf5f6Black has essentially survived the opening. The pressure in the
endgame is symbolic.)Kb8(12...Nxf5?13.Bxf5Qxf514.Qa4+−would give White a quick and efficient attack.)13.Rc1Nf6⩲This is
scary for Black, but White has to prove the advantage. I would choose this
over losing a pawn six days a week.12.Bg5Be713.Re1O-O-O?This time
this does not make sense. On top of being a pawn down, Black also has an
exposed king on the queenside.13...O-O!14.Rxe5Rfe8⩲would give
Black a good deal of drawing chances still.15.Bc4Rad816.Nd5Nxd517.Rxd5Qc718.Bxe7Rxd519.Bxd5Qxe720.g3Nxf5⩲would be an endgame Radjabov
would expect to hold, even though White can apply a bit of pressure still.14.Rxe5Nc615.Bxf6Bxf616.Rd5Qe717.Bc4±...White has consolidated the
position and enjoys both the extra pawn and a safer king's position. The
opposite colored bishops are not of much help to Black. The endgame with high
drawing probabilities is far away and meanwhile he will find that the strong
white bishop is pushing on all his weaknesses.17....Kb818.Qd3?...This is really
an ugly move that walks straight into a knight fork and basically loses a
tempo.18.g3!?±, improving the position, would make
a lot of sense.18....Qb4?!18...Qc7!would leave White without a
satisfying move. For example19.Bb3Ne720.Rxd8+Rxd821.Qe4Rd2and the
before mentioned endgame may be closer than could have been imagined a few
moves ago.19.Bb3Nd420.Qc4...This is a difficult debate. I did not like
this move when I saw it. But the endgame is really good for White and it is
impossible to fault Caruana for going for it.20.Qe4!?, keeping the
queens on the board was also strong.20....Qxc421.Bxc4Rc822.Bd3...Regrouping the bishop to the ideal e4-square, where it can push on the b7-pawn.22....Nc623.Be4Rhe824.f3Re7?!This is too slow. White is allowed to
consolidate, after which the game is decided.24...Ne5!?±with various
ideas like ...Nc4 as well as ...Re7 followed by ...Nd7-b6.25.Rad1+−h626.Kf2Rcc727.R5d2...Forcing a favorable exchange. It turns out it was even
more accurate to do it with27.R5d3!on account ofNb428.R3d2Bxc329.bxc3Rxc330.a3!!and 31.Rd7. When you have a technically winning position,
you look out for dangers of counterplay and not for deep tactical solutions to
non-existent problems.27....Bxc328.bxc3Ne529.Rc1?!...But this is ugly.29.Kg3!!Rxc330.Rd8+Ka731.Kh4!!, when White is planning f5-f6 later and for this reason Black may be
to play it himself, leading to an entry point for the king on g6, as in the
game.29....f6?This may look as if it is reinforcing the knight. But in
reality it is weakening the g6-square for later.29...Ng4+!?±to put
the knight on f6 made sense.30.Kg3...Caruana finds the winning plan easily,
once the entry point has been created.30....Ka731.Rd4Rc532.Kh4Rec733.Kh5b534.f4Nd735.Rcd1Nb636.R1d3Na4Black has definitely managed to create
counterplay on the queenside. But it is arriving late late late. This part of
the game is visually more exciting than I think the players felt it was during
the game.37.Kg6Nxc338.Bf3Nxa239.Rd7Nc340.Kxg7b441.Kxf6b342.Rd2a543.Ke6...This is good enough to win, but it seems odd to move the king
towards the center.43.Kg6a444.f6a345.f7b246.f8=Qb1=Q+47.f5was a safe win. The white king is perfectly in the clear.43....Rxd744.Rxd7+Ka645.f6b246.f7b1=Q47.f8=QQg6+48.Qf6Qe8+49.Kd6Rc450.Rc7!...50.Ra7+Kb651.Rb7+Ka652.Rb3is a funny computer win. Caruana's is
human. The possibility of something funny happening is greatly reduced.50....Kb550...Ne4+51.Bxe4Qxe4during the
game. Strongest is52.f5!a453.Qe6and White wins.51.Qe5+!...The simplest way to win the game.51....Qxe5+52.fxe5Rxc753.Kxc7Kc554.e6Nb5+55.Kd7a456.e7...Black resigned.56....Nd657.Bd1a358.Bb3and it is curtains.1-0